1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates, generally, to carpentry tools, and more specifically relates to a tool that facilitates toe nailing of a stud to a sole plate or a header.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
A search of U.S. patents that was conducted prior to the filing of this disclosure located the following patents in the general field of this invention:
______________________________________ Patentee U.S. Pat. No. Date of Issue ______________________________________ Rienecker 2,575,595 11/20/51 Kalina 332,453 01/21/53 Vargo 2,957,507 10/25/60 Bravo 2,969,819 01/31/61 McMillan 3,126,928 03/31/64 Vroman 3,357,464 12/12/67 ______________________________________
When the walls of a building are being erected, it is the usual practice to pour a concrete slab or other suitable foundation means to support the floors and walls of the building. Walls are typically constructed by laying sole plates (2".times.4" boards) in a horizontal disposition at preselected locations on the slab, securing the same to the slab, by affixing studs (also 2".times.4" boards) on, usually, 16" centers along the length of such sole plates, in upstanding relation thereto, and by capping the studs with headers, which are also 2".times.4" boards. In effect, the upstanding studs are disposed in sandwiched relation to the sole plates and the headers. The difficult part of such construction lies in the nailing together of the boards where they join, i.e., where the respective lowermost ends of the studs abut the sole plates, and where the uppermost ends of the studs abut the headers. Carpenters typically place their foot on one side of a stud while driving a nail at a thirty degree angle to interconnect the stud and the sole plate, in an effort to prevent the stud from moving responsive to the hammer blows. Once a nail has been successfully seated on the side of the stud opposite the carpenter's foot, it then becomes a relatively simple matter to repeat the procedure on the other side of the stud to accomplish the desired interconnection of boards meeting at a right angle.
Unfortunately, this "toe nailing" procedure, as it is called in the trade, is less than optimal. It is virtually impossible to maintain the correct position of the stud during toe nailing, for example. Nor is it a simple matter to always drive the nails at the optimal thirty degree angle. Moreover, the interconnection of the stud and the hard to reach header is even more difficult, due to the inherent difficulty in driving nails at such locations.
A device is needed that will facilitate the toe nailing procedure and that will, accordingly, improve the final product of the craftsman's work. The needed device would not only speed up the construction process, but would even lower the level of skill required to erect a wall. The needed device does not appear in the prior art.